Despite bells and whistles, Pixar film isn't so 'Brave' about its story

Pixar/DisneyKelly Macdonald voices Princess Merida, the young heroine of "Brave."

When Disney bought Pixar half a dozen years ago, people wondered what would eventually happen to the upstart studio.

If “Brave” provides an answer, it shouldn’t be one that surprises anyone.

Because what’s happening to Pixar, it seems, is what’s happened to everything the Mouse Factory has bought, from beloved children’s books to funky Times Square: It’s being Disneyfied.

“Brave” is a film about changes — both magical (there is a witch and a slightly misunderstood spell) and personal (there’s also a teenage girl fighting against old traditions).

But the biggest change may be in the film itself.

“Brave” is a Pixar movie — yet it’s not the sort of Pixar movie we’re used to. The period — the once-upon-a-time dark ages — is quite different from its usual contemporary or sci-fi settings. There’s little of the adult feeling that drove “Up” or “Toy Story 3,” either.

And although one difference — a female lead, for a change — is refreshing, why does she have to be a princess? Why, after all of Pixar’s groundbreaking work, are we back in this bygone cartoon world of plucky royals and anthropomorphic sidekicks?

The movie imagines a misty old Scotland, where Princess Merida must set a challenge so that three royal suitors may compete for her hand. The princess, though, doesn’t want to marry any of them, and so looks for an easy, magical way out.

Of course, there’s no easy, magical way out of anything — and the spell ends up backfiring, horribly.

Adventures ensue, involving two enchanted bears and lots of chases around the castle. Billy Connolly, who does nothing halfway, is a great oversized blowhard as the king, and Emma Thompson adds some grace notes as his queen; as Merida, Kelly Macdonald is lovely and spirited.

There just doesn’t seem to be much of a spark here.

That doesn’t mean “Brave” isn’t well-made. It’s paced well and has just the right, carefully calculated balance of slapstick and uplift. There are some scary moments, a vague lesson and an order-restored, all’s-right-with-the-world ending.

It’s very professional. But it feels pre-tested and predictable — a lot more like the perfectly inoffensive “Mulan” than, say, the touching “Finding Nemo.” All the risk has been taken out of it.

Perhaps it’s not fair to blame all this on Uncle Walt. But the Pixar name used to mean something. And it never quite meant pleasantly safe, safely forgettable movies like this.

Ratings note: The film contains violence and mildly vulgar humor.

'Brave'

(PG) Disney (95 min.)

Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell. With the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly. Now playing in New Jersey.